Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to indicate that I am replacing my colleague from Beauharnois—Salaberry, who is unable to be in the House today because of the textile issue in Huntingdon.
First, I would like to congratulate the hon. member for Halifax for her bill and the quality and relevance of her remarks. What stands out in her speech is the position that this is a matter of equity and fairness for students, as opposed to people in other groups in our society that are forced to go bankrupt. Bankruptcy is not something you choose, but something you are forced into. This is particularly tragic for students because it happens when they have not had the time yet to enter the labour market or find a job that would give them enough money to meet their financial obligations.
I want to say at the onset that the Bloc Québécois agrees with Bill C-236. We are in favour of reducing from ten to two years the period of time during which a former student cannot be released from the reimbursement of his or her student loan.
Naturally, this measure will lighten the load for less fortunate students. This is also a good measure to ensure that students repay their loans not only for extremely moral reasons or incentives, but also because of a legislative obligation.
If I am not mistaken, only students face such a long period before they can be free of their debts. Anyone else in society who goes bankrupt can ask to be discharged long before.
The Bloc Québécois is well aware of the fact that declaring bankruptcy must not be an easy way out. There must be a moral obligation and a legal obligation, in reasonable proportion to everyone else in society faced with declaring bankruptcy.
The issue is that, overall, bankruptcy by students will have to be taken into consideration in light of the fiscal imbalance, among other things. We are well aware that constraints on the provinces resulting from the fiscal imbalance are creating obligations for the provinces. In turn, the provinces will have to limit their loans and even bursaries, thereby adding to the financial difficulties faced by students.
We know that, over the past few years, particularly since 1990, the federal government has gradually cut transfer payments to the provinces for education, which has—as I said earlier—added to the difficulties faced by students. Our interest in this bill is that we must call on the other parties in the House to consider this problem in a more global context, particularly in relation to the fiscal imbalance.
At the same time, it points up the Liberal government's lack of leadership in the overall administration of education, to name just one example. The federal government is insensitive not only to the difficulties of the provinces as a result of cuts to transfer payments, given their obligations in education, but also to the difficulties students face as a result.
That is the end of my introduction, now for a brief historical overview of the situation.
In 1949, the first legislation was enacted, and this made the federal government a preferred creditor in the event of a student bankruptcy. It was therefore the first one to be paid off, and so the student could not escape his indebtedness to the federal government.
In 1992, that measure was attenuated to include only a student's first bankruptcy. In 1997, this same government added a two-year deadline. Less than a year later, to the surprise of everyone—and to this day we do not know the reason behind it—before that two-year period could even have a proper trial, they extended the period by another two years. Totally incomprehensible, that.
So, without any trial period, students found themselves faced with a discriminatory measure compared to others in society who declare bankruptcy, unable to be free of their debts for ten years.
It seems to us that it is time now for this situation to be remedied. The measure proposed by the hon. member for Halifax in Bill C-236 will enable us to correct that injustice and establish fair treatment for students.
I would not want to talk about this bill without looking at both its positive and negative aspects. In the Bloc we think the negative aspects also have to be looked at in order to make a fair judgment and see whether there is any need for amendments.
First of all, let us look at the positive aspects. Obviously there is the idea of relieving financial pressure on the most disadvantaged, in particular, and correcting the unfairness I was speaking of earlier, especially with regard to people who have trouble finding a job because, of course, these people are the ones with the most problems.
In addition, this way of doing things does not unduly liberate the individual by applying the two-year rule. A degree of responsibility is thus maintained. I will come back to that, because we think this responsibility seems rather limited.
I am coming to the disadvantages. Perhaps the hon. member for Halifax has already considered them. Perhaps she already has some answers. For our part, we are trying to find a way that students would feel a little more responsible in that time period. The length of time seems about right. Still, we often talk about moral responsibility, but how can we see it in this bill and say that it will not only be felt but also assumed and put into practice?
I will conclude the last part of my remarks with a few words about the federal government's withdrawal. Since 1990, the federal government has been gradually backing out of transferring funding to the provinces for education, which created a fiscal imbalance. This is one central aspect of the debate as we consider the budget.
This withdrawal represents a 40% shortfall in transfers to the provinces for education. This means that, from 1994 to 1998, an amount of $6.2 billion was not transferred to Quebec for health and education. That is a huge amount. This situation was never corrected. It still exists and its impact can still be felt. It is reflected in almost every area of society, including this issue. That is why we believe it should be considered from the angle of the fiscal imbalance.